In Germany, not only girls participate in the Au pair program
Konstantin Giorgadze (came under the Au pair program at age 19 from Georgia):
– German families rarely look for young men. It was important for me to choose a family whose interests matched mine, because I was going to live under the same roof with these people for a whole year.
My first family lived in a village in southern Germany. Young parents and their six-year-old son welcomed me warmly. The first two days passed like that. Later it turned out that I had to work more than the required hours. In addition, I was deprived of the computer. One day the whole family left for the weekend, and the refrigerator was locked. Soon I moved to a new family in Cologne, though I stayed there only four months. The third family lived in Bavaria. Tanya turned out to be the kindest person. We immediately found common ground with her and her fourteen-year-old son. However, my visa was not extended. I returned to Georgia, got an education there, and continued learning German. In the new semester of 2017, I will start studying in Würzburg and will focus on finding a job in Germany.
The Au pair program is a good chance to get to know the country from the inside, learn new skills, and broaden your horizons. If you are planning to get such experience, I advise you not to rush into choosing a family and to communicate with them while still at home.
Sergey Sorokin (came under the Au pair program at age 24 from Murmansk):
– I learned about the program from acquaintances. For more than six months I unsuccessfully looked for a family on my own, and only found one through an intermediary. It is harder for guys to search than for girls.
I flew to Berlin with a beginner level of German. The German grandmother in the family that took me in helped me integrate into the new environment. She spoke Russian with me excellently and with pleasure. The family paid for intensive German language courses.
My host family had five children aged from 1 to 8 years. I spent a lot of time with them, and in the evenings I helped the parents with dinner. Once, on my own initiative, I made pancakes, and the family liked them so much that it became our tradition.
Despite all the advantages, living with strangers is not easy. Sometimes I withdrew and did not spend enough time with the family. They felt it and also distanced themselves. Now I understand that I should not have kept silent and taken offense. It is important to discuss problems. Au pair is a compromise in which each side must be aware of its role.
After this program, I took part in the Voluntary Social Year program (Freiwilliges soziales Jahr), working in a kindergarten, and entered the German Sport University Cologne (Deutsche Sporthochschule).
Sergi Kopaleishvili (came under the Au pair program at age 22 from Tbilisi):
– Of all European countries, Germany seemed to me the most realistic option for gaining foreign experience. It is relatively inexpensive to live in, and education there is free. I contacted an agency, and they found a family. We talked on the phone, communicated with the host family, and soon my plane landed in Cologne.
Looking back, I realize that I was not psychologically ready to live with strangers and carry out their errands daily. The head of the family was a woman, and for a Georgian mentality that is strange. It was hard for me to come to terms with endless instructions and the role of a housekeeper. I had to prepare breakfasts and lunches, clean the house. The family demanded that I cook German cuisine dishes. I attended German courses, made acquaintances, and, I must admit, was negligent in my duties. One day I was called for a "serious talk" and told that my services were no longer needed. The agency could not find me a new family, but friends came to the rescue.
Moving to a small village, I started working on a farm for a single father. The adult son did not need a babysitter, but there was work for me. Six days a week I looked after the farm: got up at 5 a.m., cleaned the stalls, milked the cows. Could I have imagined such a turn? Relations with the host family were cool. Harsh peasant life. I had to learn German in Spartan conditions: from textbooks and audio materials. I had no computer. After passing the language exam, I announced my departure to the family. I managed to get into a German university.
Young people need to understand that Au pair is a program that involves housework. Difficulties and conflicts will arise. It is inevitable.
Vitaliy Protsenko (came under the Au pair program at age 23 from Kharkiv):
– I came with the goal of later enrolling in a German university. My first family lived in a small town in northern Germany. The mother, who was raising four-year-old twins, wanted to see me as a help. However, I overestimated my skills and was completely unprepared to work with children. In my resume, I lied, embellishing my culinary abilities, experience in raising children, and driving skills. In reality, it turned out that I could only cook basic dishes, and I felt very insecure behind the wheel, despite having a driver's license. The children often disobeyed me, and it was difficult to find common ground with them. I disappointed the family. Quarrels became more frequent, and after another conflict I started looking for a new family.
After a month, I moved to Munich. The woman was raising her son alone. At first, I did not get along with the teenage son. But I learned my lesson well: you need to be not only a friend but also an "elder." I realized the level of responsibility and took my duties seriously this time. Intensive German language courses helped me improve my skills, but live communication played a decisive role.
I used every opportunity and spent a lot of time with my family. After three months we became very close. I lived in their house for 1.5 years and after the program entered a German university. Now I study at a university in Germany, run my blog about Germany and the German language, and share my experience. Now I have my own life, but Birgit and Fabian and I still maintain friendly relations; they became my German family.